Interviewing

4 Tips to Be Prepared for a Phone Interview

As a Recruiter for the Fashion Industry I know the importance of looking the part for your in-person interview, but what is often overlooked is sounding the part for what is often your first point of contact; a phone interview!

In our tech driven world of texting and emailing we need to be careful that our phone presence doesn’t suffer. When I worked in Manhattan, I often met with candidates face to face but now as a remote recruiter based in Nashville TN, I spend the majority of my time interviewing via phone. Often, my candidates first interview with a client will also be via phone so here are a few tips to win over the recruiter or your potential future employer that’s on the other end of the line.

1.Smile yes, even though you are on a phone call, your enthusiasm needs to come through. Have an extra cup of coffee if you need to. Make sure the person on the other side of the phone can hear that you are awake, excited and prepared.

2. Speak clearly and professionally – this is a representation of yourself and you want to come across that you are taking it seriously. If you sound too casual you risk coming off as not interested and inexperienced

3. Do your research and write down questions and any key points you want to get across prior to the call. While on the phone is not the time to start googling the company ? make sure that you come prepared to the phone interview. Having things written down to speak about helps the conversation flow and will get you to that next interview.

4. Be Polished! – We are so accustomed to sending quick texts “yea, sure, k, thanks” don’t talk in text form. Answer the phone with “Hi, this is (your name)” and when hanging up be sure to thank the interviewer for their time!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Bevy Reyes St. Pè Brown – VP of Recruiting for the Fashion and Beauty Division of Solomon Page

Our freelance and executive search recruitment divisions are comprised of teams of enthusiastic, seasoned experts in their field with many years immersed in the fashion and beauty industries with an expansive network of current relationships.